PRIME MINISTER

BBC

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the occasions in the last 12 months when (a) he and (b) his staff have made (i) written and (ii) oral representations to the BBC about news and current affairs coverage;.
	(2)  if he will list the occasions in the last 12 months when (a) he and (b) his staff have made representations to broadcasters other than the BBC about news and current affairs coverage.

Tony Blair: In the last 12 months, my office will have had many discussions with all sections of the media, including the BBC, as part of their normal day-to-day duties. A list of all such discussions is not maintained centrally.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Adzido Pan-African Dance Ensemble

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Arts Council funding for the Adzido Pan-African Dance Ensemble was in each of the last three years; how many staff are employed by the ensemble, broken down by (a) dancers and (b) others; and how many performances it has put on in each year since 2000.

Estelle Morris: The following table provides a breakdown of the information requested.
	
		
			   2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Funding Arts Council England Funding £748,250 £781,956 £981,704 
			 Employment Dancers 16 16 15 
			  Other 17 15 11 
			 Performances UK Performances 59 64 18 
			  International Performances 2 6 1 
			  Education workshops and participatory sessions 556 296 38 
		
	
	The Company was accepted into the Arts Council's Recovery Programme in 2002, receiving an additional £500,000 to their core grant above, to help stabilise it. It is anticipated that it will begin creating and touring new work in the 2004–5 financial year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what improvements in health care have taken place in Afghanistan since the end of the war.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Since April 2002 72 hospitals, clinics and women's healthcare centres have been rebuilt. The Ministry of Health has established a Child and Adolescent Health Department and a Department of Women and Reproductive Health to tackle high infant and maternal mortality rates.
	The World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and the European Community are helping the Afghan Ministry of Health, through NGOs, to provide a basic healthcare service to the entire population. The package consists of services for (i) maternal and newborn health; (ii) child health and immunisation; (iii) nutrition; (iv) communicable disease; (v) mental health; (vi) disability; and (vii) supply of essential drugs.
	Immunisation is having a real impact. 12 million children have been immunised against polio and 16 million against measles since 2002, saving 30,000 lives. Cholera and diarrhoeal diseases are being tackled through health education, water chlorination and the construction of wells throughout the country.
	Recruiting, training and deploying health care workers (especially women) is a real challenge, especially in rural areas. The absence of female health workers is being addressed by the World Health Organisation, which is running a variety of health courses to boost the number of skilled birth attendants, nurses and midwives.
	Despite the substantial investment in the provision of basic health care in Afghanistan, the effective delivery of services across the whole of the country will take many months. But efforts to improve the health of people in Afghanistan will need to continue for many years and will require the support of the international community over the long term.

Overseas Offices

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the devolved offices the Department has overseas which are able to take decisions on local spending policy.

Hilary Benn: I have listed the devolved DFID offices that take decisions on local spend and policy. Based on wide experience, DFID considers that country programmes are best planned and managed within the country concerned, subject to the size of programme being such as to warrant the costs.
	Africa
	Addis Ababa Ethiopia
	Accra Ghana
	Nairobi Kenya
	Lilongwe Malawi
	Maputo Mozambique
	Abuja Nigeria
	Kigali Rwanda
	Pretoria South Africa
	Dar Es Salaam Tanzania
	Kampala Uganda
	Lusaka Zambia
	Harare Zimbabwe
	Asia and Pacific
	Dhaka Bangladesh
	Beijing China
	Suva Fiji
	Delhi India
	Kathmandu Nepal
	Bangkok Thailand
	Hanoi Vietnam
	Caribbean
	Bridgetown Barbados
	Latin America
	La Paz Bolivia
	Brasilia Brazil
	Managua Nicaragua
	Lima Peru
	Europe
	Kiev Ukraine
	Moscow Russia
	Pristina Kosovo

TREASURY

Inland Revenue (IT Service)

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2004, Official Report, column 570W, and in connection with the 28th Report of the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 1999–2000, HC 431, Inland Revenue/EDS Strategic Partnership, Re-tendering the contract in 2004, Paragraph 54, and Minutes of Evidence (HC 431-i) Questions 14 and 40, who the board member responsible for Mr. John Yard's division on 12 April 2000 was; on what date he commenced planning for retendering the Inland Revenue's information technology service; and on what date it was decided that a market-making exercise would be held prior to retendering that contract.

Dawn Primarolo: The Board member responsible for Business Services on 12 April 2000 was Tim Flesher, who at that time was the Inland Revenue's Deputy Chairman. As I stated in my answer of 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 803W, planning for the ASPIRE project began in January 2001. In addition, as I stated in my answer of 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 141W, the Market making exercise was conceived by the Inland Revenue between August and October 2001; it was also committed to at that time.

National Insurance

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy not to collect national insurance contributions from individuals who will reach state pension age during the course of a financial year where those individuals will be unable to accrue any additional rights to contributory benefits in respect of those contributions.

Dawn Primarolo: The UK national insurance scheme operates on the "pay as you go" principle so that the contributions paid by people of working age fund the benefits of people who are currently claiming benefit. The Government believes that it is right that working people between the ages of 16 and the state retirement age should contribute to the payment of benefits of those not in work and to the funding of the NHS.

National Insurance

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the size of the surplus on the national insurance fund has been in each of the last 20 years; and how much of this surplus was borrowed by the Government, and at what rate of interest, in each of those years.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the excess of receipts over payments for the National Insurance Fund for the past 20 years. Negative figures indicate an excess of payments over receipts.
	
		
			 Financial year Excess of receipts over payments(£ million) 
		
		
			 1983–84 580 
			 1984–85 374 
			 1985–86 316 
			 1986–87 414 
			 1987–88 1,581 
			 1988–89 3,081 
			 1989–90 -62 
			 1990–91 1,485 
			 1991–92 -3,459 
			 1992–93 -4,897 
			 1993–94 1,112 
			 1994–95 2,279 
			 1995–96 1,008 
			 1996–97 -98 
			 1997–98 1,871 
			 1998–99 2,669 
			 1999–2000 2,161 
			 2000–01 4,841 
			 2001–02 4,351 
			 2002–03 2,899 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures refer to the Great Britain National Insurance Fund only. Northern Ireland has a separate Fund.
	2. Figures are taken from the National Insurance Fund accounts, which are published annually by The Stationery Office.
	Details of investments are set out in the National Insurance Fund Accounts published annually by The Stationery Office.

Ivory

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many seizures by Her Majesty's Customs of ivory and items containing ivory resulted in successful prosecutions in each year since 1997; and what percentage of such seizures those prosecutions represented in each year.

John Healey: There have been no prosecutions relating to Customs seizures of ivory or ivory products in this period.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Contigencies

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has for the training of personnel in multi-agency roles in civil contingency.

Douglas Alexander: The Emergency Planning College, which is part of the Cabinet Office, has been the long-standing primary provider of training in emergency planning. All of this training is conducted in a multi-agency environment and students are drawn from the local, regional and national levels.
	The College's forward plan is based on a progressive expansion of its current programme designed also to meet the growing demand for training arising from the Civil Contingencies Bill. This expansion programme will include the recruitment of additional instructors, a wider range of courses and the exploitation of its new teaching and accommodation facilities.

Civil Contigencies

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how he intends to ensure that there will be a common training programme for those involved in contingency planning at regional and national level.

Douglas Alexander: The Emergency Planning College, has been the long-standing primary provider of training in emergency planning. Government delivered or sponsored training in contingency planning, including that of the College, accords with the common doctrine laid out in 'Dealing with Disaster' produced by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat within the Cabinet Office. This publication, revised and re-issued in Summer 2003, gives the overall guidance on terminology, practice, procedure and principles for the management of major emergencies.
	Once the Civil Contingencies Bill passes into law, 'Dealing with Disaster' will be replaced with new guidance.

Civil Contigencies

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how he intends to ensure that those responsible for competence and continuity in regional and national contingency planning fully discharge their responsibilities to the public.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary chairs Cabinet Committees overseeing this work. Their membership includes Ministers representing the Government Departments that have responsibilities in this area as well as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is responsible for Regional resilience, and senior representatives of the emergency services and intelligence and security services. These Committees drive and monitor both contingency planning and the resilience capability building programme. The Cabinet Secretariat, under Sir David Omand, provides central co-ordination for this activity, including monitoring relevant training and exercising of emergency capabilities.

Civil Contigencies

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Government Departments are involved in civil contingency co-ordination at (a) national and (b) regional level.

Douglas Alexander: The Home Secretary has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the Government's response to major emergencies at both national and regional levels. He chairs the Civil Contingencies Committee.
	At the national level, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) in the Cabinet Office, under the Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator, Sir David Omand, has the task of driving, monitoring and co-ordinating the range of departmental work necessary to develop the UK's resilience and contingency planning ability. The core frameworks through which the CCS co-ordinates the contingencies planning of Government Departments are the Capabilities Programme, announced by the Home Secretary in a statement to the House on 3 March 2003, and the Lead Government Department list, announced in answer to a Parliamentary Question on 23 July 2002.
	At the regional level, the Government has established a new civil protection tier designed to provide a strong bridge between civil contingency planning at national and local levels. This activity is co-ordinated through the Government Offices for the Regions and the Regional Co-ordination Unit in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Departmental Staff

Russell Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of staff employed within the Office are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

Douglas Alexander: pursuant to his reply, 20 January 2004 Official Report, c. 1130–32W
	The following answer should be used.
	Table A shows the number and percentage of staff in departments and agencies aged 55 and over at 1 April 2003. Table B shows the number and percentage of recruits to departments and agencies over the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 who are aged 55 years and over. The figures in both tables are based on the headcount of permanent civil servants. The numbers and totals are rounded to the nearest 10 from the raw data, while the percentages shown are calculated using the raw data alone. Hence the percentage does not always appear as if calculated from the rounded numbers. Any numbers and percentages less than five have been suppressed and are displayed as a dash.
	
		Table A:
		
			 Department Age 55+ Others Total Percent 55+ 
		
		
			 Cabinet Office 180 1,780 1,960 9.4 
			 COI 30 330 360 8.1 
			 Sec & Int Services 490 4,200 4,690 10.4 
			 DCMS 50 640 690 7.5 
			 MOD 18,550 74,900 93,450 19.8 
			 ODPM (excluding Agencies) 350 2,600 2,940 11.9 
			 DfES 470 4,760 5,220 8.9 
			 DEFRA 1,410 9,680 11,080 12.7 
			 Home Office 1,900 20,520 22,420 8.5 
			 Charity Commission 50 520 580 9.0 
			 HM Prison Service 6,100 38,060 44,160 13.8 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 550 6,890 7,440 7.4 
			 Legal Secretariat 10 30 30 16.7 
			 Treasury Solicitors 40 500 540 7.8 
			 CPSI 10 40 40 11.9 
			 DCA 2,210 10,310 12,530 17.7 
			 HM Land Registry 1,100 7,840 8,940 12.3 
			 Trade and Industry 1,280 8,970 10,240 12.5 
			 ACAS 150 750 900 16.8 
			 ECGD 50 340 390 12.7 
			 OFGEM 10 260 270 2.9 
			 Health & Safety Executive 580 3,680 4,260 13.6 
			 OFWAT 10 230 240 5.4 
			 OS 140 1,640 1,780 7.6 
			 DfT (excluding Agencies) 250 1,700 1,940 12.7 
			 HM Treasury 60 980 1,040 5.4 
			 Customs & Excise 2,490 20,470 22,950 10.8 
			 GAD 10 90 100 10.3 
			 Inland Revenue 8,580 74,260 82,840 10.4 
			 ONS 340 3,130 3,470 9.8 
			 Royal Mint 90 720 810 10.6 
			 DWP 11,860 122,410 134,270 8.8 
			 Northern Ireland Office 320 160 190 17.7 
			 Privy Council Office — 30 30 8.8 
			 Scottish Executive 1,190 10,920 12,110 9.8 
			 Crown Office & PFS 80 1,380 1,450 5.4 
			 General Register Office (Scotland) 40 180 220 17.7 
			 National Archive for Scotland 20 130 150 12.6 
			 Office SOS for Scotland 10 90 100 11.7 
			 Registers of Scotland 90 1,280 1,370 6.8 
			 National Assembly of Wales 430 3,290 3,720 11.6 
			 OHMCI 10 80 90 14.6 
			 Wales Office 10 40 50 18.8 
		
	
	
		Table B:
		
			 Department Age 55+ Others Total Percent 55+ 
		
		
			 Cabinet Office — 160 160 — 
			 Parliamentary Counsel Office — 10 10 — 
			 COI — 80 80 — 
			 Sec & Intelligence Services 10 220 230 6.1 
			 DCMS — 50 60 — 
			 MoD 1,330 6,360 7,690 17.3 
			 ODPM (excluding agencies) 50 310 350 12.8 
			 DfES 30 320 340 7.8 
			 DEFRA 60 620 680 9.1 
			 Home Office 310 3,250 3,560 8.7 
			 Charity Commission — 70 70 — 
			 HM Prison Service 480 3,790 4,270 11.2 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 60 720 780 7.4 
			 Legal Secretariat 0 — — — 
			 Treasury Solicitors Department — 90 90 — 
			 Lord Chancellors Department 220 1,390 1,610 13.9 
			 HM Land Registry 60 520 580 9.5 
			 Department of Trade and Industry 60 640 690 8.4 
			 ACAS — 40 40 — 
			 ECGD — 50 60 — 
			 OFGEM — 50 50 — 
			 Health & Safety Executive 10 280 300 4.1 
			 OFWAT 0 50 50 0.0 
			 OS 10 70 80 9.3 
			 HM Treasury — 80 80 — 
			 Customs & Excise 90 1,150 1,240 7.3 
			 GAD — 10 10 — 
			 Inland Revenue 1,320 12,100 13,420 9.8 
			 ONS 20 350 370 5.7 
			 Royal Mint — 20 30 — 
			 DWP 1,710 12,340 14,050 12.2 
			 Northern Ireland Office — 20 20 — 
			 Privy Council Office 0 — — — 
			 Scottish Executive 90 960 1,040 8.2 
			 Crown Office & PFS 20 220 240 8.6 
			 General Register Office (Scotland) 0 — — — 
			 National Archive for Scotland — 10 10 — 
			 Office SOS for Scotland 0 10 10 0.0 
			 Registers of Scotland 10 120 140 10.1 
			 National Assembly of Wales 110 350 460 24.0 
			 OHMCI — 10 10 — 
			 Wales Office 0 — — — 
		
	
	Source:
	Mandate: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Rounding may lead to inconsistencies between the sum of individual cells and the totals are calculated from the unrounded numbers. Numbers and percentages less than five have been suppressed and are represented by "—".

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children's Fund

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction in Children's Fund money for projects on jobs and services for young people.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 27 January 2004
	The 2003–04 mid-year review of expenditure found that the Children's Fund was underspent in the first half of the year.
	The Department met representatives from the main voluntary sector organisations involved in the Fund, the LGA and the ADSS on 18 December to discuss the review and assess its impact. Officials then wrote to all Children's Fund partnerships on 19 December 2003. We advised partnerships that where our decisions at the mid-year review had compromised their ability to meet contractual obligations, we would revisit them. Furthermore, we set aside some money to assist where there was a likelihood of staff redundancy or premature closure of services. The Children's Fund regional teams discussed this in detail with partnerships during January, identifying where we should restore funds taken back in the mid year review. This process was completed at the end of January.

Infanticide

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  on what basis he deemed it appropriate to state ahead of (a) the Appeal Court judgment in the case of R v. Angela Cannings and (b) the subsequent review of cases announced that children taken away from birth parents as a result of judgments where expert witness testimony from Sir Roy Meadow has been instrumental should not be returned to them if judgments are found to be unsafe;
	(2)  what directions he has issued to local authority departments to (a) identify and (b) secure documents relating to cases involving infanticide or harm to children which relied on expert testimony from Sir Roy Meadow;
	(3)  when the Minister for Children first ordered an investigation into the number of children who were taken away from parents who may have been sent to prison for cot death; and what actions he took subsequently;
	(4)  what directions have been issued to social services departments to identify and secure documents relating to cases involving infanticide or harm to children which relied on expert testimony from Sir Roy Meadow.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 26 January 2004
	The Appeal Court announced its judgment in the case of R v. Angela Cannings on 19 January 2004. I am now studying the judgment carefully, in the light of the Attorney-General's statement in the other place on 20 January.

School Deficits

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the schools in West Derbyshire which ran a budget deficit in the year ending 31 March 2003; and how much this deficit was for each school.

David Miliband: The information requested is submitted to the Department according to local education authority areas, rather than districts within an area: West Derbyshire is a district of Derbyshire local education authority. The information for Derbyshire LEA is as follows:
	
		Derbyshire(1) schools showing a deficit budget in the year ending 31March 2003
		
			 School name DfES number Deficit budget(2) (£) 
		
		
			 Aldercar Community School 4,089 (385,356) 
			 Buxton Community School 4,510 (171,070) 
			 New Mills School and Sixth Form Centre 4,057 (168,981) 
			 Heanor Gate Science College 5,408 (160,393) 
			 Tupton Hall School 4,034 (157,267) 
			 Swanwick Hall School 4,000 (141,791) 
			 Shirebrook School 4,199 (110,976) 
			 Newbold Community School 4,194 (100,461) 
			 Chapel-en-le-Frith High School 4,019 (99,237) 
			 The Dronfield School 4,509 (97,717) 
			 Ilkeston School 4,167 (84,536) 
			 Hilton Primary School 2,370 (81,672) 
			 Heritage Community School 4,198 (78,025) 
			 Mortimer Wilson School 4,001 (76,935) 
			 St. Giles C of E Primary School 3,541 (75,501) 
			 Fairfield Infant and Nursery School 2,362 (50,995) 
			 New Whittington Community Primary School 2,294 (45,244) 
			 Birdholme Nursery and Infant School 2,285 (44,053) 
			 Mill Hill School 5,416 (43,853) 
			 John Port School 5,405 (36,555) 
			 Granby Junior School 2,141 (34,951) 
			 Ripley Junior School 2,201 (28,220) 
			 Hady Primary School 2,290 (20,770) 
			 Repton Primary School 5,202 (17,787) 
			 The Delves School 7,009 (17,593) 
			 Pottery Primary School 2,624 (17,582) 
			 Wirksworth Infant School 2,276 (14,572) 
			 Waingroves Primary School 2,371 (14,347) 
			 Highfield Primary School 2,620 (14,277) 
			 Buxton Infant School 2,061 (13,776) 
			 Holme Hall Primary School 2,510 (13,568) 
			 Larklands Infant School 2,375 (13,365) 
			 Westbrook Special School 7,015 (12,801) 
			 Newtown Primary School 2,181 (12,534) 
			 Christ Church C of E Primary School 3,025 (12,135) 
			 The Green Infant School 2,226 (11,389) 
			 Etwall Primary School 2,105 (9,497) 
			 Brockley Primary School 2,046 (9,493) 
			 Penny Acres Primary School 2,131 (9,369) 
			 Marsh Lane Primary School 2,097 (8,908) 
			 Ladywood Primary School 2,328 (8,878) 
			 Draycott Community Primary School 2,086 (8,728) 
			 Riddings Infant School 2,006 (8,615) 
			 St. Anne's Catholic Primary School 3,501 (8597) 
			 Osmaston C of E Primary School 3,077 (8,540) 
			 Birk Hill Infant School 2,095 (8,333) 
			 North Wingfield Infant School 2,504 (7,683) 
			 Codnor Community Primary School C of E Controlled 3,164 (7,572) 
			 Hulland C of E Primary School 3,056 (7,104) 
			 Ripley Infant School 2,202 (6,630) 
			 Cotmanhay Infant School 2,139 (6,517) 
			 Curbar Primary School 2,083 (6,399) 
			 Kirk Hallam Community Technology College 4,169 (6,164) 
			 Gorseybrigg Junior School 2,374 (4,026) 
			 Kirk Langley C of E Primary School 3,061 (3,943) 
			 Stanton-in-Peak C of E Primary School 3,090 (3,704) 
			 St. Joseph's Catholic Primary 3,510 (3,022) 
			 Swanwick Primary School 2,010 (2,994) 
			 St. Thomas Catholic Primary 3,508 (2,895) 
			 Granville Community School 4,097 (2,844) 
			 Apperknowle Primary School 2,263 (2,710) 
			 Immaculate Conception Catholic Primary 3,503 (2,476) 
			 Abercrombie Primary School 2,296 (2,281) 
			 Somerlea Park Junior School 2,008 (1,746) 
			 Stanton Primary School 2,255 (898) 
			 William Rhodes Primary School 2,299 (788) 
			 Northfield Junior School 2,332 (403) 
		
	
	(1) Deficit budget is taken from Table B column 13—other revenue balance. This includes the cumulative balance of income less expenditure from revenue funding sources during the financial year and the balance from previous years.
	(2) The data are as reported by Derbyshire LEA within their 2002–03 Section 52 Outturn Statement (Table B) submitted to the DfES.
	Note:
	The data are as at 6 January 2004. Currently the data remains provisional as it is subject to validation and could change.

School Drugs Advisers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many school drugs advisers are in post in each local education authority; and what estimate he has made of how many will be in post after April;
	(2)  what funding has been made available for employment of school drugs advisers (a) to date and (b) after April 2004.

Stephen Twigg: The Department does not collect information centrally on the number of school drug advisers within each local education authority.
	Funding for school drug advisers (£7.5 million per year) has been made available through the Standards Fund since 2001. From April 2004 it will be up to local education authorities and schools to support drug education, including school drug adviser posts, out of the total resources available to them.
	Young people will continue to receive advice and support on drug issues from schools, the Connexions Service and a range of local agencies.

School Milk

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with (a) other departments and (b) local education authorities to promote the consumption of milk in English schools.

Stephen Twigg: Following a 20 per cent. reduction in the European Union (EU) subsidy on school milk from January 2001, this Department, the Department of Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, agreed to meet the annual £1.5 million shortfall from their budgets.
	In addition, DfES officials discuss school milk policy with other Government Departments, local education authorities and schools whenever there are issues of common interest to resolve.

School Sport

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average time spent by pupils per week on (a) physical education and (b) after-school sport was in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: [holding answer 3 February 2004): Historically, the Department has not collected data annually on the average time per week spent by pupils on physical education and school sport. Data collected during the autumn term 2002 suggested that about a third of schools at Key Stages 1, 3 and 4 and two fifths at Key Stage 2 offered their pupils two hours of high quality PE and school sport each week within and beyond the curriculum.
	Data is currently being collected on the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum.

Schools Expenditure

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent (a) per primary school pupil and (b) per secondary school pupil in (i) 1992, (ii) 1997 and (iii) 2001; and what plans there are to increase this figure.

David Miliband: The information requested is given in the following table.
	Our plans for funding increases for the next two years are that recurrent funding for schools in 2004–05 will increase by £1.6 billion, with a further increase of £2.2 billion in 2005–06. Capital funding is rising—this year it is £3.8 billion and will rise by £1.2 billion to £5 billion by 2005–06.
	
		Net current expenditure(3) (after recharges) per pupil—Cash terms(4)
		
			  Pre-primary and primary(5) , (6) Secondary(7) 
		
		
			 1992–93 1,880 2,770 
			 1997–98 1,940 2,630 
			 2001–02 2,850 3,400 
		
	
	(3) Net current expenditure (NCE) includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by the LEA's.
	(4) Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
	(5) Expenditure was not distinguished between pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of the Section 52 Outturn Statement in 1999–2000.
	(6) The NCE per pupil figures for pre-primary and primary relate the net current expenditure (after recharges) in the pre-primary sector and maintained primary schools to the total number of financial year pupils who are educated in the maintained nursery and primary schools sector.
	(7) The NCE per pupil figures for secondary relate the net current expenditure (after recharges) in maintained secondary schools to the total number of financial year pupils who are educated in the maintained secondary schools sector.
	Source:
	The financial data are as reported by LEAs and taken from Section 52 Outturn Statement submitted to the DfES from 1999–2000 onwards and prior to that from the Office of the Deputy-Prime Minister's (ODPM) RO1 statement. Pupil data are drawn from the Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many business link operators did not satisfy the independent audit of their finances and management information systems in each year since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: Independent audits of Business Link Operators (BLOs) began in 2001 following re-engineering of the Business Link Operator network.
	By their very nature independent audit reports contain recommendations for improvements in the financial and management control systems. To date there has been one instance where these reports have identified serious weaknesses in a BLO's financial and management systems. This was a identified as part of the current financial year's independent audits and we are developing with the BLO concerned an action plan to address the issues.

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Business Link operators did not achieve the performance levels required for their key performance indicators in each quarter since 1997; and what steps have been taken to address this.

Nigel Griffiths: The Business Link Operator (BLO) Performance Management Framework was introduced in the 2002–03 financial year. As a result of a review of quarter 3 2002–03 performance levels, three BLOs were identified as seriously underperforming and their contracts were not automatically extended. Another two BLOs were identified as underperforming, but to a less serious extent.
	All five have been required to undergo a Business Performance Review (BPR) which focused upon areas of weakness and which has resulted in a remedial plan. The appropriate Small Business Service Regional Team/Regional Development Agency contract manager is monitoring the implementation of these plans.
	Following their performance results for Quarter 4 2002–03, a further two BLOs have been required to undergo BPRs. These have also resulted in the production of a remedial plan which is being monitored by the appropriate contract manager.

Coal Health Handling Agreement

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to encourage co-defendants to sign up to the Coal Health Handling Agreement; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The small number of outstanding issues is principally a matter for resolution between the claimants' solicitors and the co-defendants.
	The two main groups of co-defendants are small private mines, which produced coal during the nationalised period and who have concurrent liability with British Coal and the successor companies, such as UK Coal who have consecutive liability. Negotiations with both groups are advanced. At the end of January, representatives of the DTI, the Claimants Solicitor's Group (CG) and the small mines will take part in a three-way mediation exercise to attempt to resolve the outstanding issues between them.
	The Department has been working with its claims handlers to develop a mechanism for paying interim awards to men who worked for small mines. The first payment went out in December 2003.
	Discussions with the successor companies to sign up to the Claims Handling Agreement have also reached an advanced stage. UK Coal and the CG have recently produced new information regarding dust levels in successor mines. The parties' experts are currently reviewing these reports and further negotiations will take place shortly. If the remaining issues cannot be resolved through negotiation, mediation will be explored.

Company Insolvencies

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many company insolvencies there have been since 1997, broken down by region and industry.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Table 1 records the number of company compulsory liquidations by region classified according to groupings of Official Receivers' Offices from 1999 to 2002 and the first three quarters of 2003. Statistics have not been provided prior to 1999 because of boundary changes.
	Table 2 records total company insolvencies by industry from 1997 to 2002 and the first two quarters of 2003.
	Company insolvencies consist of company compulsory liquidations and creditors voluntary liquidations. Only compulsory liquidations are available on a regional basis whereas the industrial analyses are available for total company insolvencies, but creditors voluntary liquidations cannot be separately identified.
	
		Table 1: Company compulsory liquidations in England and Wales by region
		
			2003 
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 Ql Q2 Q3 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Anglia Region 719 672 708 733 205 153 149 
			 London 1,161 951 911 1,147 281 200 174 
			 Midland Region 694 664 553 821 190 141 135 
			 North East Region 564 546 504 480 140 136 113 
			 North West Region 660 597 586 987 180 153 161 
			 Public Interest Unit 37 94 150 266 115 347 40 
			 South East Region 768 769 715 1,028 261 227 200 
			 South West Region 606 632 548 768 213 113 104 
			 
			 England and Wales total 5,209 4,925 4,675 6,230 1,585 1,470 1,076 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Total company insolvencies in England and Wales—Industrial analysis
		
			  2003 
			 Industry 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Q1 Q2 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Agriculture and Horticulture 51 65 75 67 90 76 9 16 
			  
			 Manufacturing 
			 Food, drink and tobacco 93 89 67 104 71 61 22 14 
			 Chemicals 31 57 35 61 37 46 10 4 
			 Metals and engineering 591 594 698 683 704 739 245 189 
			 Textiles and clothing 596 526 419 423 320 304 75 63 
			 Timber and furniture 181 149 190 187 199 179 22 22 
			 Paper, printing and publishing 364 426 387 386 484 545 99 98 
			 Other 613 652 780 678 717 768 99 126 
			  
			 Construction and Transport 
			 Construction 1,419 1,325 1,529 1,474 1,509 1,840 460 447 
			 Transport and Communication 540 504 443 526 481 652 190 178 
			  
			 Wholesaling 
			 Food, drink and tobacco 158 139 187 150 125 142 26 28 
			 Motor vehicles 41 60 38 29 24 64 56 53 
			 Other 340 364 394 391 363 512 147 377 
			 Retailing 
			 Food, drink and tobacco 219 186 193 200 114 132 45 46 
			 Motor vehicles and filling stations 132 120 142 141 172 174 20 16 
			 Other 891 847 919 853 833 902 165 132 
			  
			 Services 
			 Insurance 111 101 118 57 28 35 13 9 
			 Other financial and business services 1,528 1,617 1,831 1,605 1,618 3,215 1068 955 
			 Hotels and Catering 609 626 562 530 538 740 177 126 
			  
			 Others 4,102 4,756 5,273 5,772 6,545 5,179 849 868 
			  
			 Total 12,610 13,203 14,280 14,317 14,972 16,305 3,797 3,767

Electricity Blackouts

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with her Irish counterpart about the potential for electricity blackouts with reference to the problems identified by the Irish electricity regulator and the Irish National Grid.

Stephen Timms: None.

Nuclear Energy

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures have been taken to publicise the joint Public Consultation on Modernising the Policy for Decommissioning the UK's Nuclear Facilities being undertaken by the Department in association with the Treasury, DEFRA, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly and the Ministry of Defence.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 15 January 2004
	A Public Consultation on Modernising the Policy for Decommissioning the UK's Nuclear Facilities was issued on 28 November 2003. Copies of the consultation were circulated to MPs, MEPs, Welsh Assembly Members, MSPs, local authorities, members of the nuclear industry, relevant Trades Unions, environmental organisations, and a wide variety of stakeholders. Copies were placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The consultation document was publicised by a national press notice released on the day of publication. This was sent to relevant newswires, national and regional newspapers, and posted on the DTI website: www. dti.gov.uk/nuclearcleanup/pdfs/decomcondoc.pdf

Nuclear Security

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Office of Civil Nuclear Security has been asked by (a) the United States and (b) French nuclear or transport authorities to assist in the security plans for the transhipment of weapons-usable plutonium from the United States to France.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 5 February 2004
	The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is in contact with US authorities over the proposal for the transportation of plutonium from the United States to France and is in the early stages of discussions with them regarding the security requirements. OCNS, the UK's civil nuclear security regulator, would expect to be asked to approve a transport security plan prepared by the UK registered shipper Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd. (PNTL), which the US authorities would like to undertake this transportation.

Parliamentary Questions

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will provide a substantive reply to the written question tabled on 15 January from the hon. Member for Perth, reference 147999.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 3 February 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to question No. 147999.

Pneumoconiosis Benefit

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications for pneumoconiosis benefit have been received under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1979 in each year since the passage of that Act; and how many cases have been successful.

Des Browne: I have been asked to reply.
	The information is in the table.
	
		Pneumoconiosis—Workers' Compensation Act 1979 1979–80 to 2002–03
		
			 Financial year Applications received Payments made 
		
		
			 1979–83(8) 5,610 4,293 
			 1983–84 150 133 
			 1984–85 100 55 
			 1985–86 115 75 
			 1986–87 95 61 
			 1987–88 111 67 
			 1988–89 123 55 
			 1989–90 168 105 
			 1990–91 195 147 
			 1991–92 244 149 
			 1992–93 227 162 
			 1993–94 303 202 
			 1994–95 371 307 
			 1995–96 917 363 
			 1996–97 550 453 
			 1997–98 757 391 
			 1998–99 1,012 651 
			 1999–2000 1,199 799 
			 2000–01 1,352 928 
			 2001–02 1,867 1,132 
			 2002–03 2,099 1,258 
		
	
	(8) The information is not available broken down into separate years.
	Sources:
	DETR locally collated statistics 1979–2001.
	Responsibility for the scheme transferred to DWP 2002.
	DWP locally collated statistics from 2002.

Postal Services

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she will take to ensure that local communities in Huddersfield are adequately served by post offices.

Stephen Timms: Post Office Ltd. has undertaken that, on completion of its programme to rationalise the urban post office network, in the UK as a whole 95 per cent. of the urban population will still live within one mile of the nearest post office and it is expected that the majority will live within half a mile.
	The Government have also placed a formal requirement on Post Office Ltd. to maintain the rural network. The Government have made available £450 million to underpin this obligation, in the first instance to 2006.

Postal Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) rural post offices and (b) urban post offices have closed in Wales in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Postal Services

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the post offices which have been closed since 1997 in the North Essex constituency; and when each closed.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 30 January 2004
	Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Postal Services

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the reasons for the closure of the sub-post office in Southill in South Dorset, with particular reference to its distance from other post offices.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Postal Services

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what public consultation was held with the local community about the proposed closure of Stanhope Street Post Office in Abergavenny; and what the outcome was.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closure proposals following public consultation are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Postal Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the responsibility of the Government under UK and EU law to provide an adequate postal service to the community.

Stephen Timms: The Government consider the maintenance of a universal postal service in this country to be of the highest importance. That is why the obligation is enshrined in primary legislation in the Postal Services Act 2000 and why Postcomm has the primary statutory duty to ensure the provision of a universal postal service at an affordable uniform tariff.
	We wrote the universal service into law—Clause 4, section 1 of the Act guarantees:
	A delivery every working day to homes across the UK.
	A collection every working day from access points through out the UK.
	A uniform and affordable price for posting a standard letter.
	There are certain minimum requirements under Directives 97/67/EC and 2002/39/EC with regard to universal service. The directives leave discretion to member states, via their regulators, to define the specific requirements of the Universal Service within their national territory.
	Postcomm is currently developing a more precise definition of the universal service as it is provided in the UK.

Small Business Europe

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of funding her Department has given to Small Business Europe in each year since its inception; and what level of funding she plans to give to the organisation in future financial years.

Nigel Griffiths: Up to the end of January 2004, Small Business Europe had received £346,926 from the Department of Trade and Industry for delivering the Brussels-based SME liaison office service. A further £170,000 is scheduled to be paid in monthly instalments for continued delivery up to the date of contract completion on 31 May 2005.
	The payments broken down by financial year, and excluding VAT, are as follows:
	FY 2001–02: £113,091
	FY 2002–03: £127,174
	Scheduled future payments under current contract:
	FY 2003–04: £127,911 (£106,661 already paid at the end of January 2004)
	FY 2004–05: £127,500
	FY 2005–06: £21,250

Smart Award

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to ensure that support is provided by the wider business support infrastructure to assist Smart award-winners to take the outputs of their projects into the market place.

Nigel Griffiths: The Smart scheme in England has now been replaced by Grant for Research and Development. All potential applicants for the grants are urged to discuss their plans with their local Business Link operator before making an application and grant recipients are strongly encouraged to maintain a dialogue with Business Link throughout the period of the project and beyond. Business Link acts as a gateway to most of the services the Government offers to small and medium-sized businesses in England and Business Link Advisers can offer information and advice on all aspects of setting up and running a business. Business Link provides advice to over 300,000 small businesses every year at start up and growth stages with the quality and reach of that advice increasing all the time.

Solar Energy (Residential Dwellings)

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in encouraging the use of solar panels on residential dwellings.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 5 February 2004
	Under the Clear Skies initiative, which supports the installation of solar hot water heating systems among other small-scale renewables, 1,585 individual household grants have been approved with a total value of £792,000. Of these, 622 with a value of £311,000 have been paid to date.
	Under the Community stream of Clear Skies, funds offered for solar hot water heating have a value totalling £968,734. It is difficult to give an exact number of dwellings that this equates to but it is estimated at approximately 560.
	Under the Major Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme, which provides grants for the installation of solar electric panels, 408 Stream 1 individual small-scale (0.5 kWp to 5 kWp) applications have been approved at a total value of £2,843,496. Of these 221 with a value of £1,436,978 have been paid to date. Approximately 80 per cent. of these are for residential dwellings.
	Under Stream 2 (medium and large-scale) of the Programme, 25 group-housing (5 kWp to 100 kWp) applications have been approved with a total value of £2,684,866. These applications equate to approximately 500 roofs/dwellings.

Stop Now Orders

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the Stop Now Orders that were issued in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; whether any of these were for traders based in the area of Dudley metropolitan borough council; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since June 2001 when the Stop Now Orders (EC Directive) came into force, seven stop now orders have been sought and obtained from the Courts. In 2001 one was obtained by a Trading Standards Department. In 2002 two were obtained by Trading Standards Departments and two by the Office of Fair Trading. In 2003 one was obtained by a Trading Standards Department and one by the Office of Fair Trading. None of the orders were concerned with traders based in the area of Dudley metropolitan council.

US-UK Energy Dialogue

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 9 December 2003, Official Report, column 454W, on the US-UK Energy Dialogue, on what dates the Commercial Working Group of the Dialogue has held meetings since March 2003; and where each of these meetings was held.

Stephen Timms: The commercial working group was developed by the US Department of Commerce and the Department of Trade and Industry as a forum to give US and UK energy companies a voice in discussions between the two Governments on bilateral energy co-operation, security and supply issues. It has met on two occasions—on 16 December 2002 in London and 26 February 2003 in Washington.

Wind Farms

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of whether large-scale wind farm development will affect the risk of large-scale electricity blackouts, with particular reference to more remote parts of the UK;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact of large-scale intermittent windpower generation on the operation of conventional back-up;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the risks to security and stability of supply from (a) large-scale intermittent windpower generation and (b) the diseconomy of part-time operation of conventional back-up.

Stephen Timms: Existing electricity trading arrangements incentives market participants to deliver secure supplies and to manage the effects of intermittent generation, along with other risks, in so doing. Our proposals for BETTA will ensure that market participants in all parts of Great Britain face a uniform set of trading arrangements.
	Analysis carried out as part of the White Paper process shows that the electricity system could cope with an increasing reliance on renewable generation, including wind. The White Paper analysis also highlights that as the proportion of intermittent generation increases, so does the cost of maintaining stable supplies. These costs need to be managed and new ways found to minimise them. We are already funding research into this through the DTIs Renewable Energy programme and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's SUPERGEN programme. In addition, as part of our current capital grant programme we allocated in 2002 an additional £4 million to facilitate the demonstration of new control, storage and metering technologies.
	DTI and Ofgem will continue to monitor electricity security issues through the Joint Electricity Security of Supply working group (JESS).

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Regional Assemblies

Hugo Swire: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many representations he has received from Devon constituents in support of plans for an elected regional assembly for the South West.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received 11 responses from Devon constituents in support of plans for an elected regional assembly for the South West.
	In addition, the Government's soundings exercise, which was held last year, sought to determine the levels of interest in holding a referendum on establishing elected regional assemblies. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received 61 responses from individuals in Devon, 20 of whom wanted a referendum, 40 of whom opposed such a referendum, and one of whom expressed no opinion. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister believed that there is not a high level of interest in the South West and has not initiated the local authority reviews that are the precursor to a referendum.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of discussions between NATO and the EU regarding a European Security and Defence Policy mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Jack Straw: The UK's vision for Bosnia is a sovereign, independent and united country, with a democratic and accountable government, a free market economy and tolerance of minority rights. We expect it to fulfil its obligations to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We wish to see Bosnia on an irreversible track towards European and Euro Atlantic integration. Getting there will require an evolution in the presences of the international community, including the EU and NATO. NATO Foreign Ministers agreed in December 2003 that the Alliance should start work with the EU on planning a possible EU mission under Berlin Plus arrangements. The Brussels European Council also in December 2003 endorsed this. Against this background, NATO and EU officials are taking forward planning on a possible EU mission, without prejudice to any formal decision at the June Istanbul summit to terminate SFOR.
	The UK fully supports this process and wants to see NATO successfully terminate its SFOR mission in Bosnia, probably at the end of 2004, while maintaining a limited military operational presence in the country. This would be a significant step in Bosnia's development towards a self-sustaining future. We want to see an EU-led presence, which is robust, credible and able to provide a safe and secure environment allowing the EU to take forward its objectives in Bosnia. The UK has offered to take the first lead of this EU-led mission.
	The UK wishes to see the residual NATO presence run defence outreach activities such as defence reform and Partnership for Peace programmes. We also believe it should retain some operational activities, such as hunting for indicted war criminals and counter-terrorist operations.
	Bosnia provides an opportunity for NATO and the EU to put their commitment to co-operation into practice in the first major Berlin Plus operation. Effective consultation at all levels will be crucial. The EU will need to develop a joined-up approach, linking its economic, civil, development and military instruments. The UK looks forward to supporting these efforts.

European Defence

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what steps have been taken in relation to the European Council's decision to begin the improvement of the preparation of European Union operations having recourse to NATO assets and capabilities; when such steps were taken; what further steps are envisaged; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps have been taken in relation to the establishment of a cell with civil and military components in line with the European Council's decision of 12 December 2003; what future steps are planned; when he expects such a cell to be completed and operational; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Conclusions of the 12–13 December 2003 European Council welcomed the Presidency paper on "European Defence: NATO/EU consultation, planning and operations." This sets out how the European Union's collective crisis management capacity can be strengthened, particularly in the field of planning. The European Council invited the Secretary General/High Representative, Javier Solana, to propose measures for the improvement of the preparation of European Union operations having recourse to NATO assets and capabilities, and for the establishment of a cell with civil and military components. The European Council concluded that these measures should enter into force as early as possible in 2004.
	We look forward to the Secretary General/High Representative's initial report, which will be a basis for discussion among EU member states and with NATO and will lead to further, more detailed work. The Government supports the strengthening of NATO/EU planning links and of ESDP planning capacity, particularly in the civilian/military area. The Presidency paper reflects UK priorities and we will remain in touch with the Council bodies and other member states as work to implement it is taken forward.

Iraq

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2004, Official Report, column 1415W, on Iraq, what the timetable is for the International Advisory and Monitoring Board completing the report on the income and expenditures of the Development Fund for Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Mike O'Brien: No timetable for completion of the report on income and expenditures has been published by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB). The IAMB is an independent body, with membership drawn from the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development.

Pakistan

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which companies were represented on the trade mission to Pakistan in December 2003 which was joined by the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs.

Mike O'Brien: Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) led a Trade mission to Pakistan, on 7–12 December 2003. The mission was funded by UK Trade and Investment under the outward mission scheme; 12 UK companies took part in the mission.
	NCCI have asked us not to release the names of the companies owing to commercial sensitivities.

Solana Paper

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he expects to take in order to implement the recommendations of the Solana paper adopted at the European Council of 12 December 2003; what changes he expects to make to the UK security posture; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Government expects initial implementation of the Strategy to concentrate on the four priority areas tasked by the European Council when it adopted the European Security Strategy at its December meeting: effective multilateralism with the UN at its core, the fight against terrorism, a strategy towards the region of the Middle East and a comprehensive policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Government are committed to the full implementation of the Strategy to help bring coherence and greater robustness to the EU's external policies.
	The UK's security posture is already in line with the analysis behind the European Security Strategy. As outlined in the Strategic Defence Review New Chapter, we have already taken steps to ensure our forces are configured to respond to the new global threats of the post September 11th world by making our armed forces more flexible, with improved global reach. The UK has long argued for improved European defence capabilities, coherence in bringing together the EU's existing tools, both civilian and military, and a strong transatlantic link. The European Security Strategy sets out the framework to achieve this.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Staff

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are employed by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of staff 
		
		
			 Departmental staff 20,363 
			 Agency staff 122,432 
			 Non-departmental public bodies staff 4,372 
			 Total staff 147,167 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are point in time as at 31 December 2003.
	2. Numbers are expressed as staff in post (headcount) and are consistent with Cabinet Office definitions other than for the inclusion of staff on paid maternity leave.
	3. Temporary staff are included.
	4. Departmental Staff comprise the Department's Corporate Centre which includes Debt Management and the Disability and Carers Service.
	5. Agencies include: Jobcentre Plus, The Pension Service, Child Support Agency and Appeals Service.
	6. Non-departmental public bodies includes Health and Safety Executive, and two Independent Statutory Bodies, Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and Office of the Pensions Ombudsman.

DEFENCE

Bugaled Breizh

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 28 January 2004, Official Report, column 367W, on Bugaled Breizh, if he will give the locations of the other military vessels from other nations involved in the international exercise at the time of the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh.

Adam Ingram: From information provided by the vessels at the time, the locations of the foreign warships involved in the international exercise were:
	
		
			 Nation/Name Location 
		
		
			 Dutch  
			 Karel Doorman Alongside Devonport 
			 Van Nes Alongside Devonport 
			 Dolfijn On surface in position 49–32.33N 005–16.16W 
			   
			 French   
			 Primaguet At anchor in Falmouth Bay 
			 Cdt. Blaizon At anchor in Plymouth Sound 
			   
			 German  
			 U26 Alongside Devonport 
			   
			 Spain  
			 Extremadura Alongside Devonport

Civilian Deaths

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to identify the number of civilians killed as a consequence of UK military action in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq; and what measures it adopts to address the needs of dependants;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the number of civilians killed (a) directly and (b) indirectly by UK forces during military operations in (i) Afghanistan and (ii) Iraq.

Adam Ingram: We make every effort to minimise any impact of the coalition's military action on the Iraqi and Afghanistan populations. We have no reliable means of ascertaining the numbers of Iraqi military personnel or civilians killed during major combat operations in either country.
	Since the end of major combat operations in both countries, UK forces have reported all fatalities which arose from incidents in which they were involved and of which they are aware. In cases where we are able to confirm that a civilian fatality has been caused by UK forces, local officials have access to advice to help them assess the needs of dependants.

Defence Fire Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget for the Defence Fire Service was in 2003; what the anticipated outturn is; how much is budgeted for 2004; and what additional costs have been incurred as a result of Operation Telic.

Adam Ingram: There is not a single central budget for the Defence Fire Service, the costs of which are disaggregated to lower level budget holders. Information on the total cost of the Defence Fire Service is therefore not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The total additional costs to date of the Defence Fire Service deployment for Operation Telic has been £3.28 million.

Defence Munitions Depot (Dean Hill)

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Defence Munitions Depot at Dean Hill is still in use; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 14 January 2004
	The Defence Munitions Depot at Dean Hill is no longer in use. All munitions tasks have been transferred to other sites as part of the closure plan, which remains on schedule for completion by 1 April 2004.

Iraq

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received from non-governmental organisations of their estimates of Iraqi (a) civilians and (b) military casualties (i) during and (ii) since the recent conflict.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has recently received reports from Human Rights Watch and Medact both of which contained their estimates of the numbers of military and civilian casualties.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will allow (a) hon. Members and (b) others wishing to investigate human rights violations in Iraq full access to British military personnel stationed in southern Iraq.

Adam Ingram: Requests made by an hon. Member or any other person to speak to a member of the British Armed Forces stationed in Southern Iraq or elsewhere are a matter for the individual concerned and his Commanding Officer. The individual must personally agree to the request. The Commanding Officer considers whether to allow access taking into account a range of factors including the reasons why access has been requested, operational security, the existence of any investigation or proceedings involving the individual concerned and the physical security situation at the time.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether complaints have been received from Iraqi lawyers acting on behalf of the families of the alleged victims of actions by British forces in Iraq with regard to the (a) conclusions and conduct of investigations and (b) alleged incidents.

Adam Ingram: We are not aware of any complaints from Iraqi lawyers acting on behalf of families of the alleged victims of actions by British Forces in Iraq about the conclusions, or conduct, of investigations or about alleged incidents.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many incidents of alleged or possible civilian fatalities involving British forces in Iraq since the end of the conflict have been recorded by the units involved.

Adam Ingram: UK forces report all fatalities of which they are aware arising from incidents in which they were involved but it is not always possible to confirm whether fatalities have occurred during a particular incident. For example, in some incidents we believe Iraqi dead may have been taken away by their compatriots before UK forces could investigate. In other incidents UK forces have been forced to withdraw before any Iraqi fatalities could be confirmed.
	As at 2 February, since the end of major combat operations 37 alleged fatalities had been reported by British units of which 18 have been the subject of investigations. All those not subject to investigation involved assailants attacking British forces and in defending themselves the soldiers involved were acting clearly within their Rules of Engagement.

Iraq

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Challenger 2 tanks went into action in Operation Telic without their operational nuclear, biological and chemical filters having been fitted;
	(2)  what individual protection the crews of Challenger 2 tanks had against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks other than NBC suits when in action during Operation Telic;
	(3)  what the effect is on the operating efficiency of Challenger 2 tanks when their crew members are wearing nuclear, biological and chemical suits; and for how long it is deemed practicable to continue to wear them in a tank in action.

Adam Ingram: All Challenger 2 crew members are equipped with a full set of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Individual Protective Equipment (IPE), which includes boots, gloves, a respirator and NBC suit. Crews are also trained to operate their vehicles whilst wearing this equipment. In addition to the NBC IPE issued to each Challenger 2 crew member during Operation Telic, further individual protection was provided through the issue of a prophylactic drug (Nerve Agent Pre-treatment System (NAPS)). NAPS is to be taken orally, when ordered to do so, during preparations for operations. Further protection against the-effects of nerve agents was provided in the form of atropine injectors. Atropine is self-administered following exposure to nerve agent poisoning.
	The length of time personnel could wear NBC IPE while in armoured vehicles and the effect on their operational efficiency would vary according to the circumstances.
	As stated in the National Audit Office's report, none of the Challenger 2 tanks that went into action in Operation Telic was fitted with operational Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) filters. NBC filters were available in theatre but, owing to difficulties with asset tracking, were not issued to front line units in time to be fitted during the war-fighting phase of the operation. By the time NBC filters were issued to front line units, the NBC threat was deemed to have reduced significantly owing to the attrition of possible means of delivery.

Iraq

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the crews of Challenger 2 tanks which went into action in Operation Telic without their operational nuclear, biological and chemical filters fitted (a) wore individual NBC suits continuously and (b) had NBC suits with them for immediate use if attacked.

Adam Ingram: All UK military personnel deployed in Iraq were issued with NBC Individual Protective Equipment (IPE) which they were required to carry with them at all times. Challenger 2 tank crews would have carried their NBC suits inside their vehicles during operations and would have worn them if the National Contingent Commander or local commanders deemed it necessary.

Iraq

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures were in place during Operation Telic to alert the crews of Challenger 2 tanks to nuclear, biological and chemical attack.

Adam Ingram: UK forces have well established procedures for the dissemination of NBC information to all locations, units, sub-units, down to individual sections and vehicles. This applies equally to static locations and manoeuvre units, and relies on the transmission of appropriate warnings and alarms over the normal Combat Net Radio, backed up with visual and audible warnings and alarms.

Operational Requirements

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who is entitled to make a request for an urgent operational requirement; what procedures are followed when a request has been submitted; how long it should take for an urgent operational requirement request to be considered; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 27 January 2004
	Frontline commands, theatre commanders or Directors of Equipment Capability (DECs) can each generate requests for Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR). These are passed to the Permanent Joint Headquarters for endorsement. DECs, in co-operation with Integrated Project Teams in the Defence Procurement Agency or Defence Logistics Organisation, investigate if it is possible to fulfil the requirement through the purchase of new equipment or the modification of existing equipment. Where this is so a business case is drafted. This is then passed through an accelerated approvals process, which allows procurement action to be taken in the minimum amount of time. In most cases, the approvals process can be carried out in around a week (and in some cases as little as 24 hours). The need to ensure coherence of UORs with operational plans and priorities, to explore alternative ways of meeting the requirement or to confirm that a feasible solution can be delivered within acceptable timescales can in some instances add to the length of time needed to approve individual business cases.

Parliamentary Questions

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will reply to the Questions tabled by the hon. Member for Norwich North on 8 December 2003, refs 143594–6.

Adam Ingram: I have today answered two of the questions referred to by my hon. Friend, references 143594 and 143595, and I expect to answer the third, reference 143596, shortly.

Sea King

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2004, Official Report, column 505W, to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler), on Sea King helicopters, if he will place copies of the Board of Inquiry report in the Library.

Adam Ingram: It is not our practice or that of previous governments to place copies of the reports from Service Board of Inquiry in the Library of the House.
	A Service Board of Inquiry is an internal fact finding investigation undertaken by the services for their own use, into the circumstances surrounding a particular accident or incident. There is a principle of confidentiality associated with BOI proceedings, which is intended to encourage the provision of forthright evidence. Accordingly, external distribution of BOI reports is usually limited to the next of kin of service personnel killed in in-service accidents, to HM Coroners to assist in their preparations for Inquests, and to other bodies with statutory duties to investigate incidents.
	We will, when the investigation by the RN Flight Safety and Accident Investigation Centre is complete, place copies of the Military Aircraft Accident Summary in the Library of the House.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what instructions she has issued to (a) local authority environmental health departments, (b) the State Veterinary Service and (c) the Meat Hygiene Service in respect of actions to be taken to limit the spread of avian flu;
	(2)  how much imported food has been (a) condemned and (b) impounded or otherwise detained as a result of suspected contamination with avian influenza virus;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of whether the reported deaths of persons suffering from avian influenza resulted from (a) the handling of (i) live poultry and (ii) poultry meat and products and (b) the consumption of poultry meat;
	(4)  what tests are available to detect the avian influenza virus in imported food; whether screening is being carried out on existing stocks of imported food; and what the results were;
	(5)  what discussions she has had with the World Health Organisation on control measures necessary to limit the spread of avian influenza;
	(6)  what assessment she has made of the likelihood of the avian influenza virus mutating in a way which will increase its pathogenicity;
	(7)  whether the avian influenza virus is pathogenic to man; and whether it acts in concert with other pathogens to give rise to synergistic infection;
	(8)  what the route of infection of avian influenza is; and whether it is classified as a food-borne disease;
	(9)  what her assessment is of current risks to health from the (a) handling and (b) consumption of imported chicken meat in relation to avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: As soon as the outbreak of avian influenza in Thailand, the only affected country with which we have regular commercial trade, was notified we put in place a prohibition on imports of poultry meat and uncooked poultry meat products from Thailand derived from animals slaughtered after 1 January 2004. Details were sent to all Border Inspection Posts, local authorities, the State Veterinary Service, Meat Hygiene Service and to HM Customs. All the enforcement bodies concerned deal with such safeguard measures on a regular basis and are familiar with the procedures and vigilance necessary for dealing with affected products. On 28 January a further prohibition on imports of live birds from affected countries was issued in line with action agreed by member states in the EU and guidance issued to The State Veterinary Service and HM Customs. Prior to this precautionary measure live captive birds, such as falcons and finches, could be imported from the region on the basis of strict controls, including 30-day post import quarantine and testing for avian influenza.
	We are not aware of any food having been condemned as a result of avian influenza. Currently 31 consignments amounting to 489 tonnes of Thai poultry meat are detained at Border Inspection Posts, awaiting the required additional health certification.
	The World Health Organisation are investigating a 'possible' human-to-human transmission of the disease in two sisters in Vietnam, but it is too early to say for definite whether or not this is the case. Human-to-human transmission of avian influenza is in any case rare and there have been no known cases of human-to-human transmission in this outbreak. The most likely source of infection resulting in human deaths from avian influenza remains in those known to have had direct contact with infected poultry.
	Controls on production of poultry meat for export from Thailand, in place before the outbreak was confirmed, mean that the risk of infected meat being imported is very low. The normal tests for avian influenza are used to detect the disease in live animals, not meat. Testing of foods for microbial pathogens is seldom helpful in protecting public health because, if present at all, they are likely to be present in very small numbers and are not distributed evenly throughout foods. This means tests would be unlikely to detect the virus unless the level of sampling was impractically high and very expensive.
	Defra has had no discussions with the World Health Organisation on this but the global strategy recommended by WHO includes the following:
	the rapid elimination of H5N1 infection in bird populations by culling;
	protection of those who are working with, and culling, chickens to protect their health and to reduce the risk of human infection;
	improve surveillance of human respiratory disease and rapid case detection; and
	development and production of a vaccine. This is a highly complicated process and four months is considered a minimum period before vaccine could be available. Additional issues of capacity and distribution would need to be resolved.
	The WHO has said that, on the basis of presently available data, it does not conclude that any processed poultry products (whole refrigerated or frozen carcasses and products derived from them) and eggs in, or arriving from, areas currently experiencing outbreaks of avian influenza (H5N1) in poultry flocks, pose a risk to public health.
	In the twentieth century there were four major influenza pandemics in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 1977. There is evidence suggesting that the 1957 and 1968 pandemics resulted from a major change to the previously circulating human virus by incorporation of genes from an avian influenza virus. Direct spread of the assumed progenitor avian virus to humans was not reproduced experimentally and it is thought that pigs, which are susceptible to both human and avian influenza viruses, may have played a role in supporting both viruses to allow gene re-assortment to take place.
	Most avian flu viruses do not affect man, or cause very mild illness, such as mild influenza-like illness or conjunctivitis. Occasionally strains of avian flu emerge which are particularly nasty. The human cases in Asia have been severe respiratory infections with a high mortality.
	The Food Standards Agency have advised that there is no risk of acquiring the Avian influenza virus through eating poultry meat. They consider the risk of infection through handling poultry meat is very low. There are no substantiated reports of people becoming infected through these routes.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the sensitivity of the test used on translocated badgers is in (a) positive response and (b) negative response.

Ben Bradshaw: The test, which is generally used, for the detection of TB in translocated badgers is a test for antibodies (the Brock Test). This is generally accepted to have a low sensitivity (the ability to detect diseased animals). However it is difficult to give accurate values for the sensitivity because euthanased animals are not always subject to laboratory culture.
	Where a badger translocation is carried out under licence (from Defra or English Nature) each individual badger is tested three times. If any of the three results are positive, the badger is euthanased. Any other badger that has been in contact with the positive testing badger is also euthanased, regardless of the results of its own tests
	Where an orphaned or previously injured badger is translocated by an animal centre or similar body they follow a voluntary code of practice (drawn up by the RSPCA, National Federation of Badgers Groups and Secret World Wildlife Rescue). Any animal to be relocated is tested three times and, if it tests positive, is euthanased. This protocol does not advise in the destruction of badgers who have had contact with a test positive badger. It should be emphasised that this voluntary protocol was not devised or approved by Defra.
	The Veterinary Laboratories Agency is trying to develop a range of TB tests for badgers with improved accuracy, including a gamma-interferon test.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many herds were placed under TB restriction in December 2002; and how many of those same herds were still under restriction in October 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: A total of 725 herds were placed under movement restriction in December 2002. This includes 294 herds placed under movement restriction following disclosure of a new TB incident. The remainder were herds placed under movement restriction because the routine herd test was overdue.
	Ninety six herds placed under restriction in December 2002 were still under restriction on 31 October 2003 (66 of those as a result of an ongoing TB incident).

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many herds require 60-day testing for tuberculosis; and what the estimated annual cost is for this testing programme in 2003–04.

Ben Bradshaw: All herds suffering a TB breakdown are subject to at least one short interval ("60-day") test. A total of 7,275 short-interval tests were carried out from April to December 2003, at an estimated cost (including administration costs) of £3,485k. The forecast cost for 2003–04 is £4,600k.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 215W, what epidemiological inferences can be drawn from the observed seasonal trends in the incidence of TB in cattle;
	(2)  what further research she is planning into seasonal trends in the incidence of TB in cattle.

Ben Bradshaw: The absolute number of new TB incidents disclosed every month is closely correlated to the rate of testing. Hence, the majority of incidents are detected in the winter months (October through March), when most herds are tested.
	However, if the data are adjusted to take into account the seasonality of TB testing, there does not appear to be a clear seasonal pattern in the rate of new TB incidents disclosed each month (i.e. it is not possible to conclude that the herd incidence of bovine TB in certain months of the year is consistently higher than in other months).
	Because of the difficulty in studying seasonality of TB infection, there are few reports investigating this aspect of the disease. However, the results of one such investigation was reported in a paper by Wilesmith et al (1982) 1 . They examined seasonal variations in the risk of acquiring infection between 1971 and 1976 for a Dorset cattle herd during an extensive TB herd breakdown. The data indicated that the April/May period presented the time of greatest risk. This correlated with possible exposure to re-infection at the start of the grazing season, exposure lasting for a relatively short time. However, re-exposure to infection was not necessarily the same as re-exposure to pasture, since some stock were out-wintered.
	The Veterinary Laboratories Agency will continue to monitor epidemiological trends, including seasonality.
	1 Wilesmith, J. W, T. W. A. Little, H. V. Thompson and C. Swan. (1982). Bovine tuberculosis in domestic and wild mammals in an area of Dorset. I. Tuberculosis in cattle. Journal of Hygiene, Cambridge 89: 195–210.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of M. bovis was isolated from (a) carcases and (b) faeces from wildlife species tested in studies carried out by or on behalf of her Department and its predecessor since 1974.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) All previous Defra information on M. bovis isolated from wildlife carcases was collated in the following review paper: Delahay, R. J., de Leeuw, A. N. S., Barlow, A. M., Clifton-Hadley, R. S. and Cheeseman, C. L. (2002). "The Status of Mycobacterium bovis Infection in British Wild Mammals: A Review". Veterinary Journal 163, 1–16.
	(b) Two projects currently in progress involve sampling both live animals and carcase material from a variety of species. The data from these projects have not been fully analysed at this point so accurate figures are not available. Results from carcase material published in the OIE report on Wildlife disease 2003 showed that the prevalence of M. bovis infection was 2.9 per cent. in wildlife (669 cadavers, 20 positive cultures). The culture positive species were fallow deer, fox and muntjac.
	Live sampling (samples including faeces) from over 4,000 small mammals (<30g) have shown that the prevalence of M. bovis is less than 0.3 per cent. The spoligotypes associated with these animals are largely of a type only found in small mammals.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, columns 21–18W, under what circumstances genetic structures of M. bovis undergo mutation following sequences of transmission, with particular reference to transmission between species; at what rate mutations occur; whether techniques and facilities are available to detect these changes; and whether back-mutation of bacilli from final host species would assist in the determination of the direction of inter-species transmission.

Ben Bradshaw: As Mycobacterium bovis is transmitted over time there is evidence that hyper variable regions of its genome change, although most of the genome remains stable. Changes can be identified using molecular biological techniques. Hyper variable regions may change in both intra and interspecies transmission. There is no reason to believe that, except for very rare adaptive changes, the rate of mutation will increase as a strain moves between species.
	The rate at which mutations occur depends on the region of the genome. Hence, single nucleotides have an average rate of change of about 10 - 9 per nucleotide per generation. However, tandem repeats that show variable numbers (variable numbers of tandem repeats, or VNTRs), show a greater rate of change. Spoligotype changes are intermediate in rate between VNTR and single nucleotide mutations.
	We use two main techniques to detect genetic variation in M. bovis. The first of these, spoligotyping, exploits a polymorphic region direct repeat (DR) locus in the genome that is composed of multiple 36bp DR copies interspersed by unique spacers, with strains varying in the presence or absence of spacers. The VNTR method targets 6 alleles (A-F) that vary in the length of internal repeat units, permitting strains to be differentiated on the number of repeats at each target; i.e. 7–5-5–4-3–3-3 would have 7 copies of allele A, 5 of B, etc. High throughput facilities for both of these techniques exist at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), allowing the molecular typing of about 4,000 to 5,000 strains per year. Our current models of the population structure of M. bovis suggest that the VNTR loci evolve faster than the DR repeat locus. Thus spoligotyping provides a global picture of the population structure and epidemiology of M. bovis in Great Britain, while VNTR typing has proved useful as a fine scale method for detecting local changes in the M. bovis population.
	The evolution of the members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex has led to specific host preferences; hence M. tuberculosis appears human restricted, while M. bovis consists of a series of clones with a wider mammalian host range. The process of host adaptation probably involves a number of discreet mutations, which would all need to revert to reverse the host adaptation. Back-mutation i.e. the reversion of mutations, occurs very infrequently. The rate for a specific single nucleotide reversion would be about 10 - 9 X 10 - 9 ( or 10 - 1 8 ) per nucleotide per generation. Indeed, if some of these mutation events were deletions they could not revert without the re introduction of the DNA. These questions are being investigated using laboratory based molecular biological techniques at the VLA.

Chicken Welfare

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will commission research into broiler chicken welfare.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra funds an extensive research programme into broiler chicken welfare. This includes projects on key issues such as leg health and stocking density. Defra will continue to assess proposals for research.

Chicken Welfare

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the report from the EU Scientific Committee for Animal Health and Animal Welfare on chicken welfare.

Ben Bradshaw: The report of the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare is the first step in enabling the Commission to bring forward proposals on specific welfare standards for meat chickens. The Commission has held discussions with an expert working group and other interested parties. The UK has been involved in this process and will continue to play a full role. The Commission expects to issue proposals later this year.

Fallen Stock Scheme

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the proposed timetable for the introduction of the fallen stock scheme to the pig and poultry sectors.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 2 February 2004
	The Board of the National Fallen Stock Company is actively working with the relevant trade organisations to agree arrangements which will meet the specific needs of the specialist pig and poultry sector. The Government have made clear that it will ring fence a proportion of the Government funding so that these sectors will not lose out if they join the Scheme a little later than other livestock sectors. This has been accepted by the industry.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effect of (a) a plentiful food supply and (b) the absence of a relative abundance of competitive fish species on the predation habits of large cod.

Ben Bradshaw: Robust conclusions about such questions are difficult to make because the ecology of the North sea is complex and variable, and cod can eat a broad spectrum of food items. The current low level of cod abundance suggests that over the North Sea as a whole cod are unlikely to be food limited, although one cannot exclude the possibility of periodic local effects. As top predators, there are relatively few species with which large cod are likely to be in direct competition.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will carry out simulation modelling of cod stocks, in respect of ICES areas IVa and IVb, which show the effect of (a) reducing the numbers of large adult cod from the overall biomass, (b) reducing inter-species competitive pressure and (c) increasing food supplies.

Ben Bradshaw: Existing models already show that the removal of large fish from the stock increases the threat to recruitment and hence further increase the threat of stock collapse. Multi-species models are still being developed by ICES. Results to date suggest that cannibalism, predation and food supply may have some affects on the cod stock, but they do not affect the overall conclusions of the North sea cod assessment, or the associated advice.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the optimal stock level of cod in a fishery, relative to the carrying capacity of the fisheries, which will (a) produce the highest rates of biomass increase and (b) optimise the economic yield of the fishery.

Ben Bradshaw: Optimal exploitation and economic yield require a low fishing mortality rate which for North sea cod is likely to be about F=0.20 to 0.25. This is three to four times lower than the average fishing mortality assessed over the last decade.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will propose to the Fisheries Council a package of measures based on selective fishing techniques aimed at reducing cod by-catch in haddock fisheries.

Ben Bradshaw: Investigations are still continuing into selective fishing techniques in mixed fisheries. In particular, the three-year EU funded Recovery project is looking at reducing cod by-catch in several fisheries. We await the outcome of that project which could lead to further measures being proposed for selective fishing.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the effect on the yield of a cod fishery is of high level recruitment of juveniles; and what effect regulating juvenile mortality has on the overall productivity of a fishery.

Ben Bradshaw: A high number of 1 and 2 year old cod recruiting to the fishable stock first results in higher catches of immature cod, followed later by increased abundance and landings of adults.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of the closure of a cod fishery on the distribution of fish within the age classes in the fishery when the initial closure is precipitated by declining stocks of large fish.

Ben Bradshaw: As part of the work of the EU Scientific Technical and Economic Committee, scientists evaluated the effect of the closed area for North Sea cod in the 2001 spawning season, and they showed that there was little significant benefit to the spawning potential of cod in 2001. Studies showed that fishing effort was diverted to areas with a lower density of cod, including areas that were ecologically sensitive, but then moved back once the closure ceased. It was concluded that the box would have to be extended in both space and time in order to be more effective.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what input she has to the research priorities of the Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour Working Group.

Ben Bradshaw: National scientists can contribute to the initial working group discussions on priorities and terms of reference, which can then be reviewed and amended by ICES at the Gear and Behaviour Committee and the Consultative Committee, before final approval by the ICES Council, where national delegates can have their say.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will press for regulations to structure quota allocations to individual vessels to ensure that species allocated are grouped by escape behaviour.

Ben Bradshaw: No. We are not aware of any methodology which would allow such an allocation on a systematic coherent basis. To some degree current market mechanisms allow quota transfer to reduce any imbalances.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether stocks of fish are naturally variable.

Ben Bradshaw: Yes.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many United Kingdom scientists are (a) attached to and (b) members of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour Working Group.

Ben Bradshaw: The 2003 Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour was attended by gear scientists and behaviour scientist from FRS Aberdeen (six), CEFAS Lowestoft (two), and gear technologists from the SFIA (two).

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what mechanisms there are for the accurate measurement of discards from commercial fishing fleets in UK waters; and whether different techniques are applied to catches from non-UK registered vessels;
	(2)  what representations she has made to the European Commission and the Fisheries Council on the banning of discards;
	(3)  what mechanisms exist to prevent fishermen who catch quantities of fish in excess of their by-catch allowances from discarding the excess.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the EU Data Regulation, national fisheries scientists undertake a programme of regional discard measurement at sea on a range of UK commercial fishing vessels, and similar programmes are undertaken by other member states on their vessels.
	Discarding occurs when fisheries unavoidably catch small fish below the minimum landing size, or fish that are caught in excess of individual species quotas in a mixed fishery. The discard problem is under regular review, but a ban on discards is not yet considered to be practicable.
	The European Commission published an action plan in November 2002 which suggested a number of options to reduce discarding, including consideration in the medium term of a discards ban. The UK and other member states have welcomed the Commission's intention to try out the ideas in its action plan through a series of pilot projects.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is possible, under current regulations and using permitted mesh sizes, to catch fish of a length below minimum landing sizes.

Ben Bradshaw: Yes, but such fish may not be landed.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to increase industry participation in the collection of data used for assessments of the levels of fish stocks.

Ben Bradshaw: A range of activities involve industry participation in the collection or interpretation of fisheries data. These include the formal collection of data on landings, fishing effort and discards; data collected on a range of chartered commercial fishing voyages during 2003–04 under a DEFRA-NFFO-CEFAS Fisheries Science Partnership programme; and an on-going dialogue about stock assessment and management between fishermen and scientists at meetings of the North Sea Fisheries Commission Partnership. ICES is currently investigating the role of industry data through the Study Group on the Incorporation of Additional Information from the Fishing Industry into Fish Stock Assessments (SGFI), which is attended by departmental scientists.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made in the introduction of compulsory sorting grids in bottom trawls used for industrial fisheries to reduce the by-catch of juvenile round fish.

Ben Bradshaw: In some Industrial fisheries, such as for North Sea sandeels, by-catch of juvenile round fish is believed to be low. In others there is a range of options which can be used to reduce by-catch e.g. closed areas or closed seasons. At present there are no plans to require the use of compulsory sorting grids in the industrial fisheries.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the last full meeting of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour Working Group was held; and if she will place a copy of its report in the Library.

Ben Bradshaw: The last full meeting of the ICES-FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour, which deals with a range of gear and behaviour issues in the ICES area, took place on 27–28 June 2003 at Bergen, in Norway. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the basis is for measurement of by-catch.

Ben Bradshaw: The permitted percentage of by-catches by weight are specified in the technical conservation regulations, according to the fishing area, fishery, and mesh size.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her definition of grey fish is.

Ben Bradshaw: Grey or blackfish is the colloquial expression used to describe undeclared, mis-reported or mis-recorded landings of fish, usually of quota stocks.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated carrying capacity, represented by biomass tonnage, is of cod in the (a) North Sea and (b) International Council for the Exploration of the Seas areas IVa and IVb.

Ben Bradshaw: Current fishery models predict that to reach a low level of fishing mortality consistent with optimal use of the cod stock requires a sustained five-fold reduction in the fishing rate, and could produce an average SSB long term that is 10 times higher than at the present fishing rate. This would be about 550,000 tonnes if the number of young cod entering the stock does not change from the current level. It is not possible to provide separate estimates for sub areas of the North Sea.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimates are of cod biomass in (a) the North Sea and (b) International Council for the Exploration of the Seas areas IVa and IVb.

Ben Bradshaw: The ICES estimate of the 2003 spawning stock biomass (SSB), comprising fish of mature age, was 53,000 tonnes. The Advisory Committee on Fishery Management regards this figure as uncertain owing to concerns about the accuracy of recent landings data. ICES does not provide separate estimates for areas IVa and IVb.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the effect of high mortality in large cod is on the (a) survival and (b) growth rates of juvenile cod.

Ben Bradshaw: Removing adult cod is expected to have relatively little effect on the survival or growth rates of juvenile cod, but could significantly affect the production of eggs.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the main cause is of mortality in juvenile cod in the North Sea.

Ben Bradshaw: ICES reports that for ages 0 and one, the majority of mortality is natural (predation by other fish species, seals and seabirds, disease etc) and that for ages two and over most mortality is caused by fishing.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the use of separator trawls as a means of reducing by-catches on non-target species in mixed fisheries; and what regulations govern their use.

Ben Bradshaw: Separator trawls have been investigated to separate haddock, whiting and saithe from cod, flatfish, monkfish and nephrops. Some promising results have been obtained but much depends on correct rigging of the net. The use of separator trawls is not required generally in UK or EU regulations but a type of separator trawl is required for vessels wishing to fish in part of the area closed during the Irish Sea cod spawning season.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the implications for the sustainability of a fishery of concentrating on the catching of immature fish and leaving the bulk of mature adults untouched.

Ben Bradshaw: A heavy immature fishery reduces the number of fish that survive to maturity, and therefore diminishes the replacement of the existing mature spawning stock. Even if mature fish were not exploited their numbers would therefore dwindle in the long term.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the effect is of catching (a) mature cod and (b) other species on the survival of juvenile and immature stocks, with particular reference to those which have reached sexual maturity and survived two spawning seasons.

Ben Bradshaw: Catching large mature cod reduces the total egg production of the adult cod stock. To ensure sustainability of the cod and its fisheries a sufficient amount of mature cod need to breed (currently the advice is for 150,000 tonnes in the North sea). At lower levels of mature stock the production of young cod is put at risk.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances the North sea sand eel quota would be reduced to below the level of the historic landing tonnage.

Ben Bradshaw: Decisions on Total Allowable Catches for sand eels—as for other quota stocks—are taken annually by EU Fisheries Ministers on the basis of advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). If the scientific evidence suggests that TACs and quotas should be set below the level of historic catches, the UK would support this. The provisions on North sea sand eels agreed at the December Council of Ministers include not only reduced quota for 2004 but also new effort regulations to improve management of the stock.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the characteristics of the gear used by the Scottish white fish fleet are in terms of its selectivity in catching cod and haddock.

Ben Bradshaw: The selectivity of both cod and haddock in trawls and pair seines is determined mainly by codend design, the most important characteristics of which are mesh size, twine size, presence of a strengthening bag and other elements of construction. The current legislation on technical measures for the North sea provides selectivity which is appropriate for haddock but is less satisfactory for cod which mature at a larger size.

Foot and Mouth

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many companies in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley are awaiting payment for work carried out during the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease; how much is outstanding in each case; and what the timescale is for resolution of outstanding payments.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-mare (Brian Cotter) on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 261W.
	The Department is in dispute with three contractors in Lancashire over charges arising, or which are claimed to have arisen, from the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak. One of these contractors is based in Chorley.
	It would be inappropriate to comment on cases that are the subject of ongoing Court proceedings. Similarly, public comment cannot be made on civil cases that are pending.
	Timescales for resolution of disputes are subject to judicial timescales and the willingness, or otherwise, of contractors to engage in alternative disputes resolution procedures.

School Milk

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many education authorities in England take advantage of the EU subsidy to provide school milk.

Alun Michael: One hundred and fifty six education authorities in England make use of the EU school milk subsidy scheme.

School Milk

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on the School Milk Scheme in 2003.

Alun Michael: In England expenditure on the EU school milk subsidy scheme in the 2003 calendar year amounted to £5,275,236.89. Expenditure in England on the national top-up to the EU subsidy, co-funded equally by Defra, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills, totalled an additional £1,361,961.27.

Swill

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has commissioned on the link between foot and mouth disease and processed swill feed.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department is not currently undertaking any research into the link between foot and mouth disease and processed swill feed because the feeding of processed and unprocessed swill to animals is banned by EU legislation.
	It has long been known that the feeding of under processed swill to animals can cause outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. We are not aware of any outbreaks of foot and mouth disease caused by the consumption of properly processed swill that has not been re-contaminated by unprocessed swill.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Terrorism

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of his proposal that the standard of proof in the trial of suspected terrorists should be the balance of probabilities with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: holding answer 5 February 2003
	We need to address the question of how we deal with the serious and continuing threat of international terrorism and suicide bombers, many of whom are not deterred by fear of prosecution and how we can use the criminal law to prevent terrorism, rather than merely reacting after the fact.
	I will publish discussion papers shortly on the challenge facing the UK in tackling terrorism effectively. It will be important to have a full debate on all the options presented and I look forward to hearing the hon. Member's proposals at the same time.

National Security

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what mechanisms are in place for informing the general public about changes to the national alert state;
	(2)  what the national state of alert is.

David Blunkett: The UK has a range of alert systems that apply to the various sectors of the national infrastructure, dependent on the circumstances of each. These are determined in response to centrally prepared security, risk and intelligence assessments. Those sectors are informed of any changes as appropriate.
	For reasons of security for any individual sector the policy of the Government and its predecessor is not to announce publicly changes in the Alert State system beyond the sector concerned.

National Security

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to protect major business sites in London from suicide bombers.

David Blunkett: As the hon. Gentleman will appreciate it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the detail of protective security measures at specific sites, as this could compromise the safety of those sites.
	However, there has been good work, and positive relationships have been developed, between law enforcement and security agencies and private sector businesses. They have allowed the mutual exchange of advice and information on protective security on an individual and group basis.
	The Home Office manual 'Bombs: Protecting People and Property' provides public guidance on protective security and is available on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism/protect/atwork/index.html.

Official Secrets Act

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statutory restrictions are placed on individuals instructing legal representatives in cases brought under the Official Secrets Act.

Paul Goggins: Under section 1(1) of the Official Secrets Act 1989 it is an offence for a member or ex-member of the security and intelligence services to disclose without lawful authority any information relating to security or intelligence obtained through their official position. This could include unauthorised disclosure to his or her legal representative. In cases where other Official Secrets Act provisions apply, the question of whether a person must seek authorisation to disclose will depend on whether the disclosure is likely to or will cause damage as set out in the relevant provisions of the Act.
	There is no specific provision in the Act authorising disclosure of information to a legal representative as this would defeat the objective of the Act. However, the authorising entity—usually the employer organisation—will not unreasonably withhold authorisation to disclose to a legal representative information relevant to any criminal charge. The authorisation process itself is subject to judicial review.

Official Secrets Act

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted under the Official Secrets Act in each year since 1997.

David Blunkett: Arrest data is not collected centrally at the level of detail requested.
	The available information, relating to persons proceeded against at the magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts under the Official Secrets Act 1911 and 1989 is shown in the table. It is not possible from the data held centrally, to identify summary offences under the Official Secrets Act 1920.
	Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.
	
		Number of persons proceeded against at the magistrates' courts found guilty at all courts under the Official Secrets Act 1911 and England and Wales 1997 to 2002(9)
		
			  Proceeded against Found guilty(10) 
		
		
			 1997 1 1 
			 1998 2 1 
			 1999 — 1 
			 2000 3 — 
			 2001 — — 
			 2002 1 2 
		
	
	(9) These data are on the principal offence.
	(10) Persons found guilty may exceed the number proceeded against in some prosecution may have taken place in an earlier year.

Pesticides

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 28 January 2004, Official Report, column 444W, on pesticides, what assessment he has made of the potential for terrorist use of (a) unrestricted chemicals, (b) unrestricted pesticides, (c) restricted but commercially available chemicals and (d) restricted but commercially available pesticides;
	(2)  what discussions he has had regarding the misuse of pesticides containing aldicarb with (a) the Pesticides Safety Directorate, (b) the Health and Safety Executive and (c) the Health Protection Agency.

David Blunkett: holding answer 4 February 2004
	Counter terrorist and protective security planning takes account of the many available substances which could potentially be used by terrorists but have legitimate industrial, commercial or household use. Regulation of such dangerous substances is, of course, determined by environmental, health and public safety considerations in the first instance, and is a matter for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
	We continue to strengthen our defences against terrorist attacks by having appropriate protective security measures in place.

Police

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and search warrants were made by police under the Terrorism Act 2000 in Gloucestershire in 2003, and how many of these resulted in (a) subsequent court action and (b) conviction.

David Blunkett: Figures on stops and searches under section 44(1) and section 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000 are published annually in a Home Office Statistical Bulletin.
	The latest published figures are for the financial year 2002–03 and show that in the area of Gloucestershire constabulary, police conducted a total of 898 stops and searches under section 44(1) of the Act resulting in three arrests. 299 stops and searches under section 44(2) were carried out, resulting in nine arrests. Figures for 2003–04 are not yet available.
	The data collected on stops and searches made under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 are not automatically cross-referenced by police forces with the data they hold on those charged. Therefore, this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Sunset Clauses

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on the use of sunset clauses in legislation; and which Acts containing such clauses relevant to his Department were passed in each year since 1997.

David Blunkett: The Home Office actively promotes the better regulation agenda and the use of sunsetting where appropriate.
	The following sunset clauses have been included in legislation from the Home Office since 1997:
	(i) Section 5 of the Football (Disorder) Act 2000 (c.25).
	(ii) Section 112 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11).
	(iii) Section 15(3) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (c.16).
	(iv) Sections 29, 105 and 123 (in conjunction with section 122 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (c.24).
	(v) Section 1 of the Football (Disorder) (Amendment) Act 2002 (c. 12).
	Specifically, in relation to the sunset clause relating to part 4 of the Anti-Terror, Crime and Security Act, I intend to fully debate the issues in part 4 at the time of the annual renewal of that legislation, and when the contents of Lord Newton's report on the Anti-Terror, Crime and Security Act are considered and debated in Parliament.

HEALTH

Asthma/Leukemia (Children)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of (a) asthma and (b) leukaemia in children aged between 5 and 15 was in each year since 2000.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the incidence of asthma in children is not collected centrally. Hospital Episode Statistics recording the number of finished admission episodes for asthma in children aged five to 15 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 2000–01 12,266 
			 2001–02 12,440 
			 2002–03 11,394 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished admission episodes
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	Grossing
	Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–02 and 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
	The number of registrations of newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia
	(11) in children aged five to 14 in England in 2000, the most recent year for which data are available
	(12) , was 168.
	(13) International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), codes C91-C95.
	(14) Office for National Statistics, 'Cancer Statistics—Registrations, England, 2000', Series MB1.No.31.

Audiology

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average waiting time was for patients between the date of referral to an NHS audiology unit in England for a hearing assessment to an assessment taking place in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the current waiting time is between referral and being seen by an audiologist for each NHS audiology unit in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what percentage of patients referred to NHS audiology units in England were fitted with (a) a single behind the ear hearing aid, (b) binaural behind the ear hearing aids, (c) a single in the ear hearing aid and (d) binaural in the ear hearing aids, in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(4)  what percentage of patients referred to audiology units in England were fitted with (a) analogue and (b) digital hearing aids in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.

Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures his Department collects on the levels of funding by Government for cancer research in (a) the UK, (b) other European Union countries and (c) the USA.

Melanie Johnson: The Government spent an estimated total of £190 million on cancer research in 2000–01. Figures for levels of funding by Governments in other European Union countries are not available. The budget of the United States National Cancer Institute for fiscal year 2004 is $4,770 million (£2,588 million).

Cancer

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) Government and (b) non-Government spending on (i) all cancer research and (ii) breast cancer research in 2003–04; what proportion of the above is for cancer prevention; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: In the NHS Cancer Plan, the government stated its commitment to increasing funds for cancer research so as to play a full part alongside its funding partners. We said that, by 2003, we would be investing an additional £20 million each year in the infrastructure for cancer research and an extra £4 million on prostate cancer research. This new funding would mean that, for the first time, Government (through the Department, the Higher Education Funding Council and the research councils) would match the current investment of the voluntary sector. In June 2002, we confirmed to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee that Government investment in cancer research had already reached the level of the charities. Nevertheless, we remain committed to investing the extra £24 million, as described in the Cancer Plan.
	The International Cancer Research Portfolio database at www.cancerportfolio.org contains details of projects supported by cancer research funding organisations in the United Kingdom and the United States. Data submitted by the National Cancer Research Institute includes the research portfolios of the 15 largest Government and charitable funders of cancer research in the UK where the research was active on 1 January 2003. The database can be searched by type of cancer, area of research (including prevention), and funding organisation.

Cancer

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to inform men (a) about the known risk factors for prostate cancer and (b) on whether they should ask their doctor for a prostate specific antigen test.

Melanie Johnson: We want men to know what their prostate is and what can go wrong with it. We have provided funding for the following to increase public awareness of prostate cancer:
	Section 64 grant to the Prostate Cancer Charity to increase available information about prostate cancer.
	Section 64 grant to the Prostate Cancer Charity to improve awareness of the risks and symptoms of prostate cancer in African and Afro-Caribbean men in Britain.
	The database of individual patient experiences in prostate cancer.
	We have also set up the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group (PCAG) to ensure better collaboration and communication between the Department, the voluntary sector, patient and professional groups and to advise Ministers, the National Cancer Director and the Department on the development of policy on prostate cancer. One of the first actions of the PCAG was the formation of a sub-group to look specifically at the public awareness of prostate cancer.
	The prostate cancer risk management programme ensures that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having the test. Evidence based primary care resource packs have been provided to all GPs to aid them in counselling men who are concerned about prostate cancer, enabling the man to make an informed choice on whether to take a PSA test.

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Responsibility level (grade) Department of Health NHS Estates Agency NHS Pensions Agency Medicines and Health Care Regulatory Authority NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency Total number of staff 
		
		
			 Senior Civil Service 265.3 3 1 71.9 10 351.2 
			 Level 6 160.8 22 2 55.3 12 252.1 
			 Level 7 527.9 62 2 73.6 74.6 740.1 
			 Senior Executive Officer 141.1 9 9 74.1 8 241.2 
			 Higher Executive Officer 738.9 24.8 22.8 100.6 139.5 1,026.6 
			 Executive Officer 603.3 25.6 62.8 153.9 45.3 890.9 
			 Administrative Officer 413.2 11.5 144.5 111.2 16.8 697.2 
			 Administrative Assistant 43.7 1.7 14.3 17.8 4.2 81.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The information in the table represents staff in post at 1 October 2003 and is the Mandate data provided to the Cabinet Office; the published data may vary. Similar information for January 1997 is not available.
	2. In the publication Civil Service Statistics 1997, Table 1A, the total number of staff in post at 1 April 1997 in the Department of Health was 4,696, 1,013 of whom worked in the Department's agencies.

Commission for Health Improvement

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of the Commission for Health Improvement (a) in the last 12 months and (b) since its inception.

Rosie Winterton: The budget granted for the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) for 2003–04 is £35.2 million.
	Previous years figures are published in CHI's annual accounts since inception in 1999–2000. Since inception, CHI's costs total about £99 million.

Continence Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many finished consultant episodes for paediatric continence there were in each (a) NHS region and (b) strategic health authority in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the availability of integrated paediatric continence services.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested on finished consultant episodes has been placed in the Library. Data are not currently available by strategic health authority for all the years requested. Figures have therefore been provided based on the previous health authority and regional areas.
	Information on the availability of paediatric continence services is not collected centrally.

Coronary Angiograms

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many coronary angiograms were undertaken by each NHS hospital trust in England in each of the last three years; and how many of these were (a) second and (b) third interventions.

Melanie Johnson: Information on the number of coronary angiograms that were undertaken by each National Health Service hospital trust in England has been placed in the Library.
	The figures are sourced from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health. They have suppressed numbers between one and five and used a dash to indicate "not available" for trusts that did not exist or did not provide data in any of the three years. Note that due to mergers and organisational changes, data quality varies between the trusts listed.
	Information on second and third interventions is not available.

Elderly People (Malnutrition)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people were diagnosed as suffering from malnutrition in (a) Portsmouth and South East Hampshire and (b) in England, in each of the last five years; and what his Department's policy is for tackling malnutrition.

Melanie Johnson: Malnourishment is caused by an imbalance of nutrients, particularly energy intake which impacts on body weight. Eating a balanced diet and keeping physically active helps people to maintain a healthy body weight.
	Table 1 shows the count of finished admission episodes for national health service hospitals in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire (1998–99 to 2000–01) and Isle of White, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition and the age of admission was 65 plus.
	
		Table 1
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 1998–99 0 
			 1999–2000 1 
			 2000–01 1 
			 2001–02 1 
			 2002–03 3 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the count of finished admission episodes for NHS hospitals in England from 1998–99 to 2002–03 where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition and the age of admission was 65 plus.
	
		Table 2
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 1998–99 114 
			 1999–2000 98 
			 2000–01 109 
			 2001–02 128 
			 2002–03 112 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
	In the NHS Plan (2000) the Government made a commitment to reduce under nutrition by developing a hospital nutrition policy to improve the outcome of care of patients by 2004. A number of measures and strategies are in place to manage, monitor and screen patients for under nutrition in hospitals, residential care and the wider community. Nutritional screening is recommended for the care of specific groups, such as those outlined in the national service framework for older people (2001).

Fluoridation

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into the possible effects on the health of the elderly of fluoridating water.

Melanie Johnson: Fluoride is ingested throughout life as a normal component of food and water. Many of the numerous published studies of the effects of fluoride in animal tests and in human populations shed light on the effects of lifetime ingestion of fluoride. They include studies on diseases which are commoner at older ages, such as cancer and hip fractures. There are no known adverse effects on health outcomes from the usual range of fluoride intakes in the United Kingdom. There is however growing evidence from a number of studies that the protection from tooth decay derived from the fluoridation of water continues into old age.

Health Statistics

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list health statistics which are collected by ethnic minority grouping.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 4 February 2004
	The Department of Health encourages ethnic data collection at the primary care level, but these data are not available centrally.
	Key health statistics collected by ethnic group and publicly available are listed:
	Department of Health
	Health Survey for England
	Hospital Episode Statistics, data are collected by ethnic group but are not publicly available
	Morbidity Statistics from General Practice
	NHS workforce censuses: medical and dental, non-medical
	Personal Social Services User Experience Survey
	Office for National Statistics
	2001 Census
	Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey
	General Household Survey
	Millennium Cohort Study
	Mortality Statistics
	Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity Among Prisoners
	Commission for Health Improvement
	National Survey of NHS Patients
	Department of Work and Pensions-
	Family Resource Survey

Hospital Beds (Hampshire)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS (a) general and (b) acute hospital beds there are in the (i) Portsmouth and (ii) South East Hampshire area; and how many were available (A) one year ago and (B) in 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of general and acute beds is collected annually from each national health service trust and primary care trust and is published on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity
	Information is not available for the geographical areas of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire, as data are only collected by PCT and NHS trust.

Information Technology

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what cost savings have been made in his Department since the introduction of the Information Technology Procurement Centre of Excellence; and how these were calculated.

Rosie Winterton: A centre of excellence was established within the Department of Health in June 2003 to integrate the essential functions which underpin the successful delivery of all types of acquisition-based programmes and projects. As cost benefits will not accrue until improvements start to take effect, it is too early to measure cost savings. All centres of excellence are currently developing future plans, and as part of this process, measurement of savings will be defined.

Information Technology

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what audit mechanisms are in place to determine whether all IT hardware and software products are being properly utilised in his Department.

Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health has outsourced support for its information technology (IT) infrastructure including desktop computers, to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). CSC conduct periodic audits of IT hardware and software to ensure compliance with software licensing requirements and best value for money, taking into account the total cost of ownership.
	The Department of Health allows its employees and people working on behalf of the Department reasonable personal use of its IT equipment; usage is monitored in accordance with the Information Commissioner's "Code of Practice: Monitoring at Work and the Department's Acceptable Use of IT Policy". Breaches of this policy may lead to disciplinary action including dismissal.

Intermediate Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people he estimates have been diverted from requiring long-term care by the provision of intermediate care in the last three years.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally. However the Department of Health has commissioned independent national research into the effectiveness of intermediate care, the results of which will be available in 2005–06.
	Further information about the research projects can be obtained from the websites www.prw.le.ac.uk/intcare and www.nuffield.leeds.ac.uk.

Lottery Revenue

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total value is of Lottery revenue used to support Government-sponsored projects within his Department since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 26 January 2004
	The Department has no policy or operational responsibility for distribution of National Lottery proceeds. I refer the hon. Member to the response give by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 45W.

Medical Research (Animals)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the nature of the (a) financial and (b) other support given by Government towards the recent report by MORI, "The Use of Animals in Medical Research", on behalf of the Coalition for Medical Progress.

Melanie Johnson: The Government contributed 50 per cent. of the cost of the 2002 MORI poll on the use of animals in medical research. This poll updated the 1999 MORI poll carried out for the Medical Research Council. The results were published on the Coalition for Medical Progress (CMP) website at www.medicalprogress.org in March 2003. No other financial support has been given to the CMP, which is funded by subscription from its members. Government Ministers have spoken at events organised by CMP to set out Government policy on the regulation of the use of animals in scientific procedures.

Memory Clinics

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to assess the adequacy of the provision of memory clinics in England.

Stephen Ladyman: It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities to assess the development of these services.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a decision will be made on including pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the childhood vaccination schedule.

Melanie Johnson: We do not have a firm date for when such a decision will be made, pending current research.

Prevenar

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding he has approved for the provision of the vaccine Prevenar on the national health service.

Melanie Johnson: In order to make a decision about committing budgets to this vaccine we need to be certain that the vaccine is cost effective, that it can be introduced to the childhood programme safely and effectively and that we are confident of vaccine supplies. We will review the Department's spending plans when we are confident that the vaccine will deliver real benefits.

Registered Nursing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the cost of the registered nursing care contribution in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04, (c) 2004–05 and (d) 2005–06.

Stephen Ladyman: The additional allocations for national health service funded nursing care in 2002–03 and 2003–04 were £220 million and £584 million. The proposed allocations for 2004–05 and 2005–06 are £582 million and £584 million respectively. The figure for 2002–03 relates to self-funding residents only, and the other figures relate to all eligible care home residents, including those previously supported by local councils. It is for primary care trusts to manage their obligations effectively, within the total resources available.

Sexual Health

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) radio and (b) television channels he has used for sexual health campaigns since he published the sexual health strategy.

Melanie Johnson: The table shows the radio stations that have been used to broadcast advertisements as part of the Government's 'Sex Lottery' campaign, launched in 2002, to raise awareness of sexually transmitted infections and promote safer sex among 18 to 30-year-olds. No television channels have been used to date.
	
		
			 Radio station Area served 
		
		
			 96.3 Radio Aire Leeds 
			 95.8 Capital FM London 
			 Choice FM London London 
			 Hallam FM Sheffield 
			 Kiss 100 FM London 
			 Metro Radio Newcastle 
			 Key 103 (Manchester) Manchester 
			 TFM Middlesborough 
			 96.9 Viking FM Hull 
			 Sunrise Radio (Greater London) London 
			 Invicta FM Kent 
			 103.2 Power FM Southampton 
			 Radio City 96.7 (H) Liverpool 
			 96.4 FM BRMB Birmingham Birmingham 
			 Virgin Radio (AM) National 
			 Galaxy 101 Severn Estuary 
			 Galaxy 102 Manchester 
			 Galaxy 102.2 Birmingham 
			 Sabras Radio Leicester 
			 Galaxy 105 Yorkshire 
			 104.9 XFM London London 
			 Vibe FM East Anglia 
			 Juice 107.6 Liverpool 
			 Juice 107.2 (was Surf 107.2) Brighton 
			 Galaxy 105–106 North East 
			 Capital Gold London 1548 London 
			 GWR FM Bristol 
			 Friday Night Kiss Network 
			 Total East Anglian Radio East Anglia 
			 Total Plymouth Sound Plymouth 
			 Sunrise Yorkshire Bradford 
			 Asian Sound Manchester

Statistics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reasons for wide variations in MRSA bacteraemia statistics between hospital trusts; and whether the variations are linked to the size of the sample numbers used.

Melanie Johnson: Generally methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia rates will be higher in trusts that care for more vulnerable patients and that undertake more invasive and high-risk specialist care. A high rate does not necessarily mean that these trusts are poor performers in either infection control or other performance measures but indicate a need for further investigation. For example large teaching hospitals may import infections when patients are transferred in for specialist care.
	A proportion of bacteraemias in all types of hospital are preventable and the aim is to lower MRSA bacteraemias overall. It is important that all trusts examine their MRSA bacteraemias to assess how much is preventable and to take appropriate control measures.
	The mandatory surveillance system includes all bacteraemia reports and not a representative sample. Further information on interpreting this complex dataset is available on the Department of Health website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/mrsadata/

Statutory Sick Pay

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people employed in his Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The report, "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service", is published annually.
	It describes and comments upon the amount and type of sickness absence recorded by the Home Civil Service and its individual Departments and Agencies. The report is available on the internet at: http://www. cabinet-office.gov.uk/civilservice/publications/sickness/index.htm
	Copies are also available in the Library.

Waiting Times

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average length of time a patient was on the waiting list for treatment for (a) cancer, (b) heart disease, (c) hip replacement and (d) liver complaints was in (i) St. Helens and Knowsley Authority, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the North West Region in each year since 1992;
	(2)  how many (a) cancer, (b) heart disease, (c) hip replacement and (d) liver complaint patients resident in St. Helens were on a waiting list for treatment in each year since 1992.

Melanie Johnson: Figures on the average waiting times are not available. The information requested on the number of people waiting for treatment is shown in the following table. Data specifically on liver disease and hip replacement are not collected centrally.
	
		
			   Specialty  
			  Organisation Cardiology Clinical oncology 
		
		
			 1993–94 St. Helens and Knowsley District Health Authority 120 8 
			 1994–95 St. Helens and Knowsley District Health Authority 133 12 
			 1995–96 St. Helens and Knowsley District Health Authority n/a n/a 
			 1996–97 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 103 5 
			 1997–98 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 188 4 
			 1998–99 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 179 2 
			 1999–2000 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 200 5 
			 2000–01 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 125 3 
			 2001–02 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 303 5 
			 2002–03 St. Helens PCT 217 4 
			 2002–03 Knowsley PCT 184 3